High school football programs take precautions in battling heat

Saturday

When Jefferson coach T McFerrin started playing football in the late 1950s, off-season conditioning didn't exist and and the only preparation for the August heat came from veteran teammates.

A football player collapses and dies somewhere in the United States nearly every August. In the wake of two heat-related deaths within 24 hours last year, the GHSA has instituted state-wide guidlelines to try to make sure it doesn't happen again. Those guidelines are a far cry from the minimal advice McFerrin received when he went through his first two-a-days.

"Back then we wore those heavy cotton jerseys, the same jerseys we'd wear in December," McFerrin said. McFerrin graduated high school in 1960 in Murfreesboro, Tenn. He began his coaching career in 1965. "I played four years in high school and never got a drop of water in practice. After a while those shirts would just be soaked with sweat and they felt like they weighed 100 pounds. We'd wring our jerseys out so we could keep our lips and our mouth moist. Some of the older guys told us to put a lemon slice in your helmet so you can bite down on it just to have something wet in your mouth. So things are a whole lot better in that regard than when I was playing."

The first day Georgia high schools can have full practices is on Wednesday. For the first time, the GHSA has mandated that all teams have a five-day heat conditioning period leading into full practices. Several Athens-area schools began their acclimation period last week so they can put on the pads on Wednesday.

"It scares me," Athens Academy coach Michael Gunn said. "Our kids have been really positive and good about workout out with each other in the summer and running out in the heat. But it really, really scares me. I would hate for one of our kids to get into trouble like that at camp and for us to be helpless about it. I know all the precautions are there. The towels are there. The ice tubs are there. But I don't want to ever have to use those things, to be honest. I'm glad our kids take it seriously so we can be ready."

Protecting players from the heat also means preparing them. Air conditioning might have lowered indoor temperatures. But football is an outdoor sport and the summer sun will be a major factor for the first half of the season. Clarke Central players have to pass a conditioning test before they can practice with the team.

"There's a fine line because you definitely want to have some safeguards in place," Clarke Central coach Leroy Ryals said."But what people don't realize, is you've still got to get the kids in shape some kind of way. Because when we line up against Marist on Aug. 30, at 7:30 at night, it's going to be 90-something degrees or 100 degrees under that helmet. When you've got to factor in all the adrenaline and the people in that stadium watching, it's going to be hot. So you've got to get the kids in shape to play the game."

Deaths demanded action

Until this year, the GHSA had allowed schools to set their own standards about working out in the heat. After two Georgia high school players died within about 24 hours last year, the association stepped in with state-wide guidelines. Schools have to use a wet-bulb temperature reading to determine if they can practice outdoors. The wet-bulb reading differs from the heat index because it measures evaporation rate as well as temperature and humidity. The quicker sweat evaporates off of skin, the better the body can regulate temperature. High humidity slows the evaporation rate but wind can accelerate it which complicates determining affects on players.

"It's a little different from what we've done before," Ryals said. "There are some guidelines about when you can practice and how you can practice. You've got to have five days of acclimation before you put the pads on. You've got mandatory water breaks every so often to keep the kids hydrated. We were already doing a lot of that before the guidelines came down. But it's an adjustment to how you run practice. My trainer goes down to the practice field right before we go out and tells me what the wet-bulb reading is so we'll have some kind of idea about how long we can stay out there and adjust our schedule."

Most Athens-area schools have been ahead of the curve in regards to preparing for the heat. Proactive summer conditioning programs have been in place for years before the GHSA mandates. Players are encouraged to work out for an hour or two during the heat of the day so they can be ready for the first day of full practices.

"When I was a player we'd take that great big salt tablet before practice started," Gunn said. "It was about the size of a horse pill. But now they've come so far with what you can do to prevent stuff. It's much better than what it used to be. From where I started to where we are now, everybody's a whole lot more aware of it and that's a good thing. At the Academy, I was scared of the heat when I started coaching 21 years ago. Our kids were ready 21 years ago and I think they're working just as hard now to get ready."

Technology, culture force changes

Air conditioning and indoor entertainment have not always been as big a part of a teenager's life like they are today. Air conditioned houses didn't become the standard until the 1970s and players tended to work outdoors during the summer. There wasn't anything to watch on television on a summer afternoon except soap operas and Sesame Street so youths found things to do under the sun. The only video games were at the corner arcade which wasn't always air conditioned and you usually had to walk or ride a bike to get there.

"The schools weren't air conditioned back then," McFerrin said. "We were more used to the heat because we'd stay outside a lot more. We didn't have cable TV or computers or video games. We'd play ball or cut yards and all kinds of things like that so we were used to the heat. We didn't have any off-season conditioning because we were playing baseball and things like that. We didn't need it. There wasn't as much to do back then so you made up games yourselves outside. So we didn't have summer workouts when I was in school. After spring practice, we didn't have another practice until two-a-days. So I think what we're doing in the summer now with summer workouts is definitely beneficial. You're getting them acclimated. I don't know which one is better but it's certainly different."

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.